In this Issue:
J 24 Great Lakes Championship Regatta
Channel 9 Update
America True Boat Deadication
Around Alone- Cray Valley takes Class II overall
Worrel 1000 reaches 9th checkpoint
J 24 Great Lakes Championships
This past weekend, May 15 & 16 saw
the Muskegon Yacht Club host the J 24 Great
Lakes Championships. Five races were sailed
in a variety of conditions over the two days.
31 boats attend sailing 5 leg
windward/leeward courses.
Regatta organizers would like to thank
regatta sponsors. Sponsors include: North Sails
One Design, North Sails Midwest, Source One Signs,
Old Boys Brewhouse, Sequel Sails and Canvas,
Patagonia and Torresen Marine.
The regatta was won by Josh Kerst sailing
Instant Karma. Josh also won the regatta in 1998.
For his win Josh gets a spot in the J 24 worlds
to be sailed in Newport Rhode Island in 2000.
For complete results please see:
http://www.torresen.com/races/j24/gl/1999/results.htm
Josh took the time to file a detailed report
about the regatta. He e-mailed it to us and we have
printed it below.
Around the World of Sailing is always
willing to publish regatta reports. Submit your
material to: atwos@torresen.com by Wednesday 1200.
Race 1 - ESE @ 7 - 9 knots.
After a quick practice start sequence (general recall)
the fleet split for both shores and played a shifty
& streaky upwind leg up the bay under the dunes.
Mike Vining took the early lead around the offset by
nicely playing the last left shift. The Bowers' team
(High Heels) from Minnesota was close behind followed
by Greg Eiffert (Brain Cramp), Adam Zangerle in his
new Italian Taxi and newcomer to the class Brad
Boston. Team Karma was in 6th and had a nice view of
the downwind duels. Bowers wisely split from the
crowd and choose the right gate. The left played
out late and High Heels passed Eiffert and went on
to record his first bullet. Little did we know,
that this would be the first of their hat trick
Saturday. The first race shook out like this:
Bowers - 1
Greg Eiffert - 2
Brad Boston - 3
Race 2 - SE 9 - 11 knots
A freshening breeze provided for very tight racing
and a crowded windward mark. The right shift late
was the gifted position this time and team Bowers
rounded first with the Karma crew close behind.
Once again, Adam Z was there with Boston, Eiffert,
Steve Wells, Ed Lesley and the Zoom team from
Minnesota all in a pack. Bowers rounded the right
gate downwind again, we split thinking the breeze
would never go left again....wrong. Result; Bowers
received bullet #2 and team Karma salvaged a 9th, ouch!
Results After 2
Bowers - 1 - 1
Brad Boston 3 - 5
Greg Eiffert 2 - 7
Ed Lesley 4 - 6
Race 3 - S 4 knots
A dying breeze allowed the fleet to head for both
shores again. The pin end could cross the fleet
after the start if they only had some breeze. Lori
Poppen and Ed Lesley headed right at the boat end
and led a group of 6 to the only breeze up the right.
Team Bowers once again proved invincible as the
waited longer than most before tacking left for the
mark. They led a group of four including ourselves
around the course. A late right shift up the
last beat allowed the peleton led by Nancy Zangerle
(FYI - She and Adam are the only two boat couple
I know) to pass a lot of folks who had worked
themselves out of a hole. Eiffert, the poor soul
was really Jones'd as the fleet set kites from
behind as he could only watch. Didn't matter they
were OCS to boot.
After Day 1
Bowers 1-1-1 = 3 pts
Boston 3 -5-4 = 12 pts
Karma 6-9-2 = 17 pts
Lesley 4-6-15 = 25 pts
The day was topped off with a MYC shrimp feast and
whitefish dinner not to mention the four pitchers
of Instant Karma's to dull the pain. The following
raffle hosted by Lori Poppen and Brian Powers
provided many highlights such as Ralph Fisher
winning the Quantum gear package and Joe Colling
trying to fit in his new Musto float coat
(size M, you bet Joe). After darkness prevailed it
sort of turned into a scene from WWF wrestling as
the items were finally launched into the feeding
frenzy crowd. We retired for the evening after
some Cosmic Bowling and hoped for a chance to
win on Sunday....
Day 2
Race 4 S - 12 knots
After our now obligatory practice start the RC
decided to show us the "Z-flag". A congested
boat end start launched the Karma crew to an
early lead followed by Eiffert and Boston. It
would stay that way till the end. The Bowers
team proved mortal and gutted out a 10 place
finish. So the final race would decide the
Worlds spot for Newport 2000.
After 4 races
Bowers 1-1-1-10 = 13 pts
Boston 3-5-4-6 = 18 pts
Karma 6-9-2-1= 18 pts
Race 5 - SE - 10 knots
The pin end won the favored left side led by
Greg Eiffert, Adam Zangerle, and Brad Boston.
We decided to ride Bowers to the right side and we
barely made it to the mark before a big lefty
caved in the right. We rounded 5th behind Adam
and moved to fourth at the gate passing young
Bradley. A quick look back showed Bowers mid-teens.
After a number of interesting moments near the end
including a 20 degree lefty we crossed in 6th and
started counting. Boston ....deep teens and Bowers
13th. In review , we sailed the breeze first,
watched our competition second and never gave up.
Its like Yogi Berra says "When you come to the
fork in the road, make sure you take it"
Final Results
Karma 6-9-2-1-6=24 pts
Bowers 1-1-1-10-13 =26 pts
Boston 3-5-4-6-18 = 36 pts
Thanks to the awesome crew work of Tony, Ric, Sean,
Juice, and Harold (Saturday) we'll be heading to
Newport late next summer.
Channel 9 Update
Beginning 1 May Lake Michigan
VHF Radio Channel 9 became the primary
calling frequency for recreational boaters.
Formerly VHF Channel 16 was used.
However, due to the heavy traffic
load on Channel 16 created by the thousands
of radio equipped boats on Lake Michigan
the Coast Guard and FCC have devised a plan
to keep Channel 16 clear. The reason for
the plan essentially is to keep Channel 16
clear for emergencies.
Coast Guard Commander Roger Dubuc,
said: "I'm scared to death that an urgent call
for Coast Guard assistance will go unheard because
someone with a more powerful radio will be
discussing their fishing plans with another
boater. I this situation we will hear only the
more powerful radio transmission."
By using Channel 9 boaters should experience
easier and safer radio communications. Below
is a summary of facts recreational boaters should
know and apply when using their VHF radio this summer.
Channel 9 will act as a hailing frequency
between recreational boaters. The Coast Guard will
not monitor Channel 9. To contact the Coast Guard
for assistance you should use Channel 16.
The Coast will broadcast marine advisories
on both Channel 9 & 16.
Commercial vessels such as freighters, and
pilot boats will continue to use Channel 16 as a
hailing frequency. When you need to contact a
commercial vessel you should use Channel 16.
Coast Guard Groups Grand Haven, Milwaukee and
Sault Ste. Marie are involved in the Channel 9
program. This means it includes all of Lake Michigan
and it's connecting navigable rivers and lakes.
For this plan to work boaters must understand
that Channel 16 is the water borne equivalent of 911.
It should be used for emergencies only.
America True Boat Dedication
America True image located at: http://www.torresen.com/sd
One week from today 26 May the America
True America's Cup yacht will be launched. The
75 foot boat designed by Phil Kaiko and built
by James Bett enterprises will be the first
boat launched by an American cup syndicate.
The boat will arrive at America True
headquarters on San Francisco's Pier 17. The boat
will be kept under wraps until 1700.
Then at 1700 True CEO Dawn Riley will speak
along with San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Mayor
Brown will drop the shroud allowing viewing of the boat.
Still, this being the America's Cup the full
boat will not be visible. This is to keep the
design secret.
After the unveiling the boat will board
a container and head to New Zealand. America True
feels that being first in the water with a new boat
will give them an advantage.
For more see: www.americatrue.org
Around Alone
Note: To complete our Around Alone coverage
Torresen Sailing Site will attend the Around Alone
awards ceremony the last weekend in May. Once the
entire fleet reaches port we will provide a summation
of Around Alone, focusing on the experiences of the
sailors, lessons learned and the way to Around Alone
success. Look for our Around Alone summation
in the 26 May issue of ATWOS if Paladin 2 and
Neil Hunter have finished.
Although days dated the 13th have a bad
meaning to some for Cray Valley skippered by J.P.
Moulgine it was a crowning day. At 0100 Charleston
time Cray Valley crossed the finish line to clinch
an overall victory in Class II.
Leg 4 was slow for J.P. Mouligne both relative
to his competitors and against the clock as he took
32 days 14 minutes and 17 seconds an average speed of
7.49. With a Class II winning time of 132 days 4 hours
3 minutes and 9 seconds J.P. narrowly missed
a new Class II race record.
Leg 4 from Punta to Charleston was J.P.'s
most difficult. For one, the pressure was on. If
he won Class II again he would become only the 3rd
Around Alone sailor to win all 4 legs of a given race.
At the start of the leg he hindered his chances
with some bad tactics. Then he was hit by two major
hurdles. One was a strep infection of his knee.
After receiving medical advice from shoreside doctors
J.P. took a course of antibiotics. This controlled
the infection and he sailed on.
The other was a mainsail on its last legs.
J.P. repaired the sail. He lost time making the
repairs and never had full confidence in it the rest
of the leg. Despite this J.P. continued to sail Cray
Valley hard, but a Leg 4 win wasn't to be.
The leg 4 loss was of small consequence in
the big picture. As he neared Charleston J.P. said:
"So many have have tried this race and so few have
succeeded that I am forever grateful to have been given
the chance to realize my dream." J.P. took the chance
given, prepared well and no matter the circumstances
finished strong on his way to a dominating Class II
victory.
Going by the estimated times of arrival there
will be one more week of daily Around Alone reports
posted on the Torresen Sailing Site. You can find
these each day at:
http://www.torresen.com/aroundalone/leg4/default.htm.
You can continue to receive a daily dose of
sailing information beginning 1 June as Torresen
Sailing Site debuts Sailing Daily. For more please see:
http://www.torresen.com/sd
Worrell 1000
The 17th Worrell 1000 Catamaran race has
reached Atlantic Beach North Carolina. This is the
9th checkpoint.
At this point 9 of the 13 teams is still
sailing. In the lead is Rudee's Restaurant skippered
by Brett Dryland. Their lead over defending champion
Chick's Beach is only 6 minutes 52 seconds. In third
is Pomodoro which won yesterday's leg 2 hours 48 minutes
behind.
Three legs remain before the finish in Virginia
Beach Virginia.
For more see: www.worrell1000.com